I've never played LoL (or any other Moba's, except for a few games of demigod) before 2 days ago.

I wasn't really interested in playing it, but a friend of mine asked me to join his LoL team for a small casual tournament in october since they're 1 member short.

Apparently they need a jungler/top lane.

So I'm planning on buying at least 2 champs.

First I want a decent champion to learn the game and level up asap.

Second I'ld like to know what junglers people here like, and why.

Thanks in advance

To start with: Will you have your own accounts in that tourney? Or specific tourney accounts? Because if it's your own, you will need to spend some real life money, most likely. Both to hit level 30 and be able to afford both champions and runes.

Fortunately for you, there's quite a bit of overlap in champions that can go both top lane and jungle. The following advice will be a bit generic, as we do not know what team composition your group likes to run with.

I would advise waiting with jungling until you get lvl 10 at least. That way you will have some of the necessary masteries. By then you can pick up a few of the champions to learn what to do.

A very nice starting jungler is Nunu. He will teach you how to counter jungle and is very doable at lower levels due to his innate sustain. As an added bonus, he can go top lane (though it is an uncommon pick there) to shut down a few popular choices. Furthermore, he can be placed anywhere so it is very hard to counterpick him. As an added bonus, he is extremely cheap.

A good ganking jungler is Alistar. He is free from following Riot on Youtube. He has very potent ganks at early levels, but does fall behind if he does not get the kills.

Both Shen and Malphite can take top or jungle. Both are tanky junglers. Unfortunately, either is fairly likely to get banned. Lee Sin is trickier, great at ganking, but also fairly likely to be banned.

More likely candidates are Shyvana (great at farming and very easy to play), Olaf and Jax. The latter two can snowball out of control with some farm. They are also quite a bit cheaper than Shyvana.

Lastly, I'd suggest Kayle. She can go top lane and shut down a few of the stronger champions hard there. (Such as Darius.) She can jungle fairly well too. If you can get some items on her, you are effectively creating a second AD carry.

//edit: Actually, I am going to add one more champion: Udyr. He's a situational pick, in that he can get kited till hell freezes over and is fairly mana dependent... however, against some team compositions he is a very good pick. Additionally, he is exceptionally strong against some typical top lane bullies, which makes him a viable purchase.

Originally Posted by preposterous

was going to buy draven and his skin, but alot of people are telling me that he isn't really that good. any tips?

He's pretty good, especially early game. Combined with a Janna, he makes for a *lot* of harass. Later game, his mini game actually causes him to lose damage. Time spent walking is time spent not auto attacking. That doesn't mean he completely falls off, but it is something to keep in mind. I personally think he's in a pretty good spot, compared to most of the AD carries.

Thanks a lot for the info. I was not planning on jungling until I got some decent runes/masteries

Will be using my own account, but I don't mind spending some cash on it, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can get very dedicated to a game if need be, and LoL is a game which requires some dedication to say the least.

I think NuNu is free this week so I'll probably start with him, and maybe buy him with IP, since he's super cheap indeed.

i rly wanna buy vayne but it seems like id just be better off with corki and graves in ranked games

Corki and Graves (along with Ezreal) are the best and most popular AD carries in ranked (note what's common among all these carries). Vayne needs a smart support. The HERP DERP I HIT YOU support mentality doesn't work. You need to play very strategically if you have Vayne or Kogmaw on your side, most people don't realize this.

Originally Posted by Culnar

Sometimes people act like blizzard is their friend who betrayed them and now they're pissed!

Originally Posted by Vulpei

Actually the backlash from pandas is because alot of the people didn't grow up.

Vayne is still good. She's just a higher risk/reward champ than Graves. I don't much like her after the last nerfs, but that doesn't take away from the fact that she still has scary burst early on and can melt everything late game.

---------- Post added 2012-08-22 at 06:24 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Katjezz

pay2win

10 characters

Congrats. This is in all likelihood the single most dumbest comment I've seen today. As Riot only sells 'time' or 'looks' for real life money, you just made yourself look like a fool.

i rly wanna buy vayne but it seems like id just be better off with corki and graves in ranked games

Generally. Her laning is weak and she require the most micro and positioning of all AD carries, but she has fantastic damage and is the best late game carry. When it comes to "late-late" though (IE, full items), Trist wins simply due to range.

How good is tristana compared to the other strong ad carries? I played her a few times, since she free after all, but i sort of regret not buying corki when he was on sale. Definetly had fun playing him when he was free. Trying to pick up and master a strong ad carry except ez, i suck horribly with him.

How good is tristana compared to the other strong ad carries? I played her a few times, since she free after all, but i sort of regret not buying corki when he was on sale. Definetly had fun playing him when he was free. Trying to pick up and master a strong ad carry except ez, i suck horribly with him.

I love Tristana, and that's after playing as all of the carries at some point. I think she's a little better at poking thank Corki but he brings a little more in the way of abilities than Tristana. I think Graves MIGHT go a little closer in play style to Ez, in that he feels opposite, with him doing best with a shotgun to the face.

I have a silly amount of mages, but love Ahri, she worth a pick up? Annie and Malz are my best mages, but I'd like to know if she stacks up as a viable pvp pick.

I have a silly amount of mages, but love Ahri, she worth a pick up? Annie and Malz are my best mages, but I'd like to know if she stacks up as a viable pvp pick.

if you're good at aiming skill shots, go for it.

if not, stick to Malzahar imo.

you really REALLY need to hit with her E to be most effective with her, it can make or break some fights just for the sheer fact you could hit their AD carry, get them in the middle of a fight and have their team burst them down.

you really REALLY need to hit with her E to be most effective with her, it can make or break some fights just for the sheer fact you could hit their AD carry, get them in the middle of a fight and have their team burst them down.

I can hit with her E. Probably gives me a reliable mid that isn't Malz, as I end up pushing to hard with him right around 7.

How good is tristana compared to the other strong ad carries? I played her a few times, since she free after all, but i sort of regret not buying corki when he was on sale. Definetly had fun playing him when he was free. Trying to pick up and master a strong ad carry except ez, i suck horribly with him.

She is very good early on and very good late game. Mid game she falls off a little. You counter this by going aggressive early on and getting kills, so you can transition into mid game faster and hence transition into late game faster. Mid game you farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, and more farm. It's easy to farm as her, so it's not a problem.

Level your Q as fast as possible (don't forget to take a point in jump and 2 points in E for escape and amazing lane harass). Counter mid game deficiencies by getting both buffs if possible. Stay behind your tanks in team fights and use jump to escape if enemy tries to close in on you. She is a very safe AD carry. You have two builtin escapes (ulti can be used to escape).

Overall, she is very fun and perfect for solo que. People might love their Graves and Corkis and Ezs for solo que, but Tristana is as safe a pick as them if not more.

---------- Post added 2012-08-23 at 05:48 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Fenlnir

I have a silly amount of mages, but love Ahri, she worth a pick up? Annie and Malz are my best mages, but I'd like to know if she stacks up as a viable pvp pick.

Ahri is the 7th most banned champion in the past three months. She is incredibly amazing when in the right hands. One of the must have AP mids if you play mid a lot. Very high skill cap as well. So you are not going to get bored playing her for a long long time.

Originally Posted by Culnar

Sometimes people act like blizzard is their friend who betrayed them and now they're pissed!

Originally Posted by Vulpei

Actually the backlash from pandas is because alot of the people didn't grow up.

Hi guys! Should i buy Pantheon with IP and buy the full metal skin that is on sale while i'm at it or save IP or just spend the RP buying Draven? I do play mostly AD carry, but i have quite a few already and no real top champ; The RP was a gift so i don't mind "wasting" it xD

Hi guys! Should i buy Pantheon with IP and buy the full metal skin that is on sale while i'm at it or save IP or just spend the RP buying Draven? I do play mostly AD carry, but i have quite a few already and no real top champ; The RP was a gift so i don't mind "wasting" it xD

There's some hate against Draven over here I think. =P I don't have either, but I know a few people that REALLY enjoy Pantheon, and he's a beast once you get the hang of him.